Malt turning and stirring machine



(No Model.)

J. 1-". DORNFELD. MALT TURNING AND- STIRRING MACHINE.

No. 578,053. Patented Mar. 2, 1 897.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN F. DORNFELD, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

MALT TURNING AND STIRRING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 578,053, dated March 2, 1897.

Application filed June 11, 1896.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN F. DORNFELD, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Malt Turning and Stirring Machines, of which, the following is a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which are a part of this specification.

My invention has relation to improvements in malt turning and stirring machines.

The objectof the invention is to prevent the malt from being unequally distributed by the stirrers over the malting-floor-that is to say, to prevent an excess of the mass of malt being forced toward one side of the room.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view of a malting-room, showing a maltstirring machine arranged to travel therein, said machine being shown in front elevation. Fig. 2 is a plan View of the stirrers or plows with my improved blades arranged between sets thereof; and Fig. 3 is a detail view in elevation of one of the plows, its shaft, and bearing therefor, with the improved form of guard properly arranged in connection therewith, the full line indicating the position to which the guard is swung when the machine is traveling in the direction of the arrow and the dotted line indicating the position to which the guard is swung when the machine is traveling in the opposite direction.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 4 indicates the floor of an ordinary maltingroom. A track consisting of rails 5 5 is fixed horizontally on the tops of walls 6 6. A carriage is located above the malting-floor and extends transversely across the room. This carriage is provided with the wheels 7 7, which are adapted to travel on the rails 5, said carriage being driven slowly back and forth across the room over the malting-fioor by the means fully described in my Letters Patent of the United States, No. 539,860, dated May 28, 1895, for improvements in malt turning and stirring machines.

For elevating and stirring the malt on the malting-fioor there is a series of spiral shovels 8, fixed on vertically-disposed shafts 9. These shovels are located along the carriage at such distance apart and in such manner as to sweep and raise all the malt over the maltpractice open to an objection.

$555.1 No. 595,152. (No model.)

ing-floor during the progress of the carriage across the floor from one extremity to the. other. At the upper ends of the shafts 9 are bevel-gears 10, and with these gears beveled pinions 11 are adapted to mesh, said pinions being carried on a shaft 12. This shaft is provided upon one end with a pulley 13, which is rotated by a cable (not shown) driven from any suitable source of power, as fully described in my former Letters Patent of the United States, No. 532,543, dated January 15, 1895, for improvements in malt turning or stirring machines, or this shaft 12 may be rotated in any other desirable manner, its rotation being imparted to the shaft 9, carrying the shovels, through the intermeshin g pinions and gears 11 and 10.

The spiral malt-stirring plows or shovels 8 are of the peculiar form herein shown and also fully shown and described in my United States Letters Patent No. 539,860,dated May 28,1895, forimprovements in malt turning and stirring machines. As stated in my former Letters Patent just referred to, the helical plows or shovels are so geared that any portion of one is half a rotation in advance of the corresponding portion of the other. As the shafts all rotate in the same direction it will be obvious that the edges of the plows projecting toward and adjacent to each other will pass each other, moving in opposite directions. This particular construction and arrangement of the spiral shovels has been found in As the' machine travels ahead in the direction shown by the arrow, Fig. 2,-and the helices turned, as shown, the malt all works over toward the side a, Fig. 2. The reason for this will now be explained. On the go-ahead side I) the helices continuously dig into the solid packed mass of malt, and the portion torn oif is cramped in between the helices and the solid body of malt ahead, whereby said torn-off portion rises to the top instead of being carried from one helix to the other toward the side 0. On the rear side d, however, the helices are drawing away from a stirred-up body of malt, and as this stirred-up body furnishes so little resistance it will be dragged to the side a instead of passing upon the blades of the helices, as is designed to be the case. As the malt on the go-ahead side is not carried toward the side a for the reason previously explained and as the malt on the rear side (1 is carried toward the side a, it follows that the malt is twice as high on the side a as on the side 0. This is a great objection in ventilating, as the lower or thinner part of the layer will thereby be caused to cool much quicker than the higher or thicker part or side. This dilficulty I obviate by suspending a certain number of blades let in between the helices, said blades being pivoted at the points 15. These blades do not reach quite to the malting-floor and are suspended in a manner to swing to the positions shown by either the full line or dotted line in Fig. 3 in accordance with the direction of the travel of the machine. It is obvious that the pressure of the malt against the forward edges of the blades will always press said blades toward the rear side. Here (at the rear side) the blades are in loose stirred-up material,where it takes little power to move them ahead with the machine.

Vith blades suspended as described said blades are always on the rear side cl of the machine and oifer obstructions against the lateral dragging of the material on said rear side toward the side a, leaving the batch perfectly level. If desired, of course, a blade may be placed between each set of shovels, although this is not absolutely necessary to successful operation, as good results may be obtained by employing about half as many blades as there are helices.

Attention is also here directed to the fact that depending rigid blades might be used to some advantage. In such case, however, said blades would have to be made somewhat wider than shown, so that when the machine is reversed the reversed edges of the blades will extend to the rear. This construction, however, is objectionable, owing to the fact that with the use of a wide blade the forward edge would necessarily have to extend into the hard mass of malt in advance of the shox'els and thereby to that extent retard the travel of the machine. I wish to be understood, however, notwithstanding, as including such variation within the scope of my invention.

\Vhat I claim as my invention is- 1. In a malt-stirring machine, the combination, of a carriage reciprocative over a maltin g-fl oor, a series of vertically-disposed spiral shovels, means for rotating said shovels, and one or more blades placed between one or more sets of shovels.

2. In amalt-stirring machine, the combination of a carriage reciprocat-ive over a maltfloor, a series of vertioally-disposed spiral shovels, means for rotating said shovels, and one or more pivoted depending blades arranged between the shovels.

In a malt-stirring machine, the combin ation, of a carriage reciprocative over a malting-fioor, a series of vertically-disposed spiral shovels so geared that any portion of one is half a rotation in advance of the corresponding portion of the other, whereby two adjacent points of their outer edges are always opposite, means for rotating the several shovels in the same direction, whereby said opposite edges will pass each other in opposite directions, and one or more blades placed between one or more sets of shovels.

4. In a malt-stirring machine, the combination, of a carriage rcciprocative over a maltin g-floor, a series of vertically-disposed spiral shovels so geared that any portion of one is half a rotation in advance of the corresponding portion of the other, whereby two adjacent points of their outer edges are always opposite, means for rotating the several shovels in the same direction, whereby said opposite edges will pass each other in opposite directions, and one or more pivoted depending blades arranged between the shovels.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN F. DORNFELD.

Vitnesses:

JAS. B. IIITCHCOCK, MORTIMER J. VINCETT. 

